FR-A-2 887 474 describes an atomizer comprising a body fastened to the wrist of a multi-axis robot that moves the atomizer relative to the articles to be coated. The articles to be coated in that document are vehicle bodies conveyed by a conveyor. That atomizer also has a coating material reservoir that is housed in a proximal portion of the body. The reservoir has a cylindrical shape that extends along a main axis that coincides with the axis of the atomizer. A turbine and an atomizer member in the form of a bell cup are mounted in the body. As shown by comparing FIGS. 1 and 2 of FR-A-2 887 474, the atomizer member sprays the coating material substantially in a spraying direction that extends the main axis of the atomizer and of its reservoir. In other words, the main axis of the reservoir is co-linear with the spraying direction.
The atomizer thus has an elongate shape that limits its agility, i.e. its aptitude for reaching regions that are difficult to access, in particular, on the inside of a motor vehicle body.
In addition, the length and the narrowness of the connection duct and of the feed duct generate large head losses that can reduce the flow rate of solvent, and thus slow down cleaning operations. A specific low head loss duct is necessary for collecting waste when cleaning the atomizer. Thus, in a conventional paint spraying installation, a cleaning stage lasts about 20 seconds (s) and gives rises to paint losses of about 25 cubic centimeters (cm3).
A particular object of the present invention is to remedy those drawbacks, by proposing an atomizer that is agile, compact, and simple to manipulate, by means of a robot.